And since I've already reviewed one book, I might as well get as caught up as I can. I think I've actually got two more to do, but I'm not sure why I'm dragging my feet on them. Maybe it's because these other review are more gripping. That is certainly the case with The Hollow Boy. With Ghost Story, and Death Weavers this makes the third story involving ghosts in as many months. Out of those three I think this one is the most well written when it comes to making ghosts creepy and terrifying. Both of the other two books do a good job with what they are writing. Their limitations are they are introductions to ghostly aspects of the established world where Lockwood & Co. is a world of ghosts and Stroud is not adding to the world but rather is adding details to that world that make it even more vivid and lurid. While I enjoyed all of the ghost stories I recently listened to, The Hollow Boy is the one that is a true ghost story. Stroud's writing does an awesome job of building tension and portraying the situations our characters find themselves in as genuinely frightening. His style lends well to audio and I think would translate well to film. Here is a link to the Audible page for the book. This book was narrated by Emily Bevan who is new to the series. It took a bit to get into her version of the characters' voices, but by the end I was good with it and it didn't distract from the performance. All in all, the book was gripping, exciting, and intriguing throughout.
Plot: London's ghost problem is accelerating. That is good for business for the various firms that handle ghosts, but bad for survival rates. Lockwood, Lucy, and George and so busy that it's been ages since they went on a case together. Moral is suffering the effects of fatigue and what's worse (for Lockwood anyway), they haven't been asked to participate on the giant outbreak that has all the big firms tied up in the Chelsea district of London. In an attempt to make their life easier, Lockwood hires an office assistant. However, it doesn't make Lucy's life easier as she and Holly do not get a long. At all. While they keep things civil (barely) it just might boil over at the worst time. What's more, Lucy's talent of listening to ghosts might be more powerful then originally thought, but in order to employ it she has to leave herself completely defenseless. At what point does exploration and a desire to help become suicide? She might not know until it's too late.
My personal favorites: As always, Lucy, George, and Lockwood are fantastic. Holly is a fun addition as well, particularly as it throws a wrench in Lucy's mindset. In many a less well written young adult novel this addition of a character like Holly would through the characters into an emotional well of soppy and "woe is me" self-dialog that would turn the novel into a mushy YA romance. However, Stroud is a really good writer and Lucy is too stubborn to let her emotions get the better of her - or so she thinks. One conflict didn't remove tension from the others. The climatic scene was well done and we start to see more intrigue on a large scale. Stroud is good as paying off promises he made in earlier books all the while leading into new ones that are leading us where he wants to take us. Really, just needs to say: My personal favorites: all of it.
Considerations: Like the other books, the considerations for this have nothing to do with violence, sensuality, gore, or anything else. Some strong language, but nothing else in that regard. The climax is intense and might be frightening for young readers, but nothing YA readers would find too much.
These are some of Angel's favorite books. In fact she had read this book from the library but still wanted the audio version for her private collection. I also enjoy the books, which is surprising as I don't normally go for ghost stories. However, Stroud has done a great job writing a ghost intrigue/suspense story and THAT is something I can get into. The total length for the book was just under 12 hours.
Plot: London's ghost problem is accelerating. That is good for business for the various firms that handle ghosts, but bad for survival rates. Lockwood, Lucy, and George and so busy that it's been ages since they went on a case together. Moral is suffering the effects of fatigue and what's worse (for Lockwood anyway), they haven't been asked to participate on the giant outbreak that has all the big firms tied up in the Chelsea district of London. In an attempt to make their life easier, Lockwood hires an office assistant. However, it doesn't make Lucy's life easier as she and Holly do not get a long. At all. While they keep things civil (barely) it just might boil over at the worst time. What's more, Lucy's talent of listening to ghosts might be more powerful then originally thought, but in order to employ it she has to leave herself completely defenseless. At what point does exploration and a desire to help become suicide? She might not know until it's too late.My personal favorites: As always, Lucy, George, and Lockwood are fantastic. Holly is a fun addition as well, particularly as it throws a wrench in Lucy's mindset. In many a less well written young adult novel this addition of a character like Holly would through the characters into an emotional well of soppy and "woe is me" self-dialog that would turn the novel into a mushy YA romance. However, Stroud is a really good writer and Lucy is too stubborn to let her emotions get the better of her - or so she thinks. One conflict didn't remove tension from the others. The climatic scene was well done and we start to see more intrigue on a large scale. Stroud is good as paying off promises he made in earlier books all the while leading into new ones that are leading us where he wants to take us. Really, just needs to say: My personal favorites: all of it.
Considerations: Like the other books, the considerations for this have nothing to do with violence, sensuality, gore, or anything else. Some strong language, but nothing else in that regard. The climax is intense and might be frightening for young readers, but nothing YA readers would find too much.
These are some of Angel's favorite books. In fact she had read this book from the library but still wanted the audio version for her private collection. I also enjoy the books, which is surprising as I don't normally go for ghost stories. However, Stroud has done a great job writing a ghost intrigue/suspense story and THAT is something I can get into. The total length for the book was just under 12 hours.
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